


The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

by Just_here_for_a_laugh



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Justice League - All Media Types, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: And Selena and Lois, Angst, BAMF Diana (Wonder Woman), Background Relationships, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Celebrity Crush, Diana (Wonder Woman) is a prankster, Diana thinks Jason is adorable, Evolution of Friendship, First Crush, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Humor, Jason Todd Deserves Happiness, Jason Todd Has Feelings, Jason Todd Has a Heart, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is Robin, Jason Todd loves Wonder Woman, Jason has a crush on Diana, Kinda, Like Roy is discussed but he isn't actually present, Little Kid Crush, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Post Lazarus Pit, Protective Diana (Wonder Woman), Puppy Love, So are a number of the Bat siblings, and this is the hill i will die on, because he is, but she is not romantically interested in him, pre Lazarus pit, takes place over multiple years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_here_for_a_laugh/pseuds/Just_here_for_a_laugh
Summary: Jason meets Diana when he's a kid as Robin and instantly develops a crush. Who wouldn't?A look at the evolution of a puppy love little kid first crush into a genuine meaningful friendship
Relationships: Diana (Wonder Woman) & Bruce Wayne, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Clark Kent, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Jason Todd, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Jason Todd (one sided), Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Comments: 10
Kudos: 211





	The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I thought it would be fun to do something with the idea that Jason idolizes Wonder Woman and how that would look and how she would react to that. It turned out a lot angstier for a minute there than I had been expecting not gonna lie, but I think it worked. This took me way longer to write than other things and I hope that in that time I did justice to it. I just love both of these guys so much. I do not own DC Comics or anything associated with them. Happy reading!

Diana smiled as the new Robin bounded from place to place around the room. Dick had gone on to establish his own super identity and the young boy that Bruce had recently taken in, Jason, now filled the green pixie boots that had belonged to his brother. The two shared many similarities, but the new Robin was very much his own person. Batman had brought him up to the Watchtower to meet the League and while Dick had tended to flip around the furniture and chatter on happily with anyone who would listen, Jason was much more interested in looking into nooks and crannies, and he had already gone head to head with Hal in a battle of wits that had seen the Green Lantern bested by the quick thinking and sarcasm of Gotham’s latest hero. The boy was daring and funny and a little bit brash, and the princess chuckled to think how Bruce must be adjusting to life with his new son.

  
She was greatly enjoying the interactions between the team and the boy, but she had work to do still and so Diana stood and politely excused herself. Twenty minutes later as she sat at the Tower’s main computer, her communicator went off.

  
“Yes?” she asked. Bruce’s voice came through the small device.

  
“Is Robin with you?”

  
“He is not,” she replied, “is he no longer with you?”

  
“No,” Batman answered, “it would seem he took off to do a little exploring,” he followed up with a slight huff. Diana smirked slightly.

  
“Well, I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.”

  
“Yeah, I’m just concerned about what he’ll get into in the meantime. Batman out.”

  
Diana rolled her eyes fondly. Yes, this boy was going to be good for Bruce, keep him on his toes as they said. Focussing again on her work, Wonder Woman dug further into the mystery in front of her and before long she came upon a possible lead. Follow up, however, would require quite a few of the paper files which Batman deemed too sensitive to upload onto the computer systems. The superhero made her way to the file room, only to stumble upon the missing Robin, suddenly frozen in front of an open filing cabinet.

  
“W-wonder Woman,” the boy stammered, in what she suspected was equal parts surprise and awe. “I, uh,” he tried. She held up a hand and smiled gently.

  
“Please,” she said, “call me Diana.” She walked over to the cabinet and stifled a laugh as the boy quickly jumped back to give her space. She took a key and unlocked the drawer that she needed. “I didn’t realize that Bruce had given you a key to the filing cabinet,” she commented, knowing very well that he had not. Jason chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

  
“Well, I, uh, sort of made my own,” he admitted, pulling a paperclip and the ink cartridge of a pen out from behind his back a little shyly. He glanced up at her face, expecting the expression to be riddled with disapproval. Instead she gave a resolute nod.

  
“Resourceful,” she said, “a very good trait to have.” The young boy thanked her, quickly looking down to hide his blush. Chancing a glance back up he saw her begin moving files to a stack on the table.

  
“What are those?” he asked.

  
“These are files pertaining to a mystery I am looking into.”

  
“Seems like a lot,” the boy commented, eyeing the mountain of information gradually amassing with every trip between the drawer and the table.

  
“Well I am not sure which of these files will tell me what I need to know, so I am taking them all.” Diana explained. “Then when I have the information I need, I will input it into the supercomputer and run a series of algorithms in order to narrow my search.” Jason nodded thoughtfully. The hero continued ferrying papers to the table. “There are people looking for you” she commented. The boy grinned.

  
“I won’t tell them if you don’t.” She appraised the new Robin for a moment before quirking a small smile.

  
“Indeed.” She started towards the table to grab the stack of files, but the young boy beat her to it.

  
“I’ll get them,” he announced, struggling to lift the gargantuan stack. “To the supercomputer, right?” he asked, voice slightly muffled by the paperwork towering nearly over his head.

  
“Um, yes,” Diana answered, trying no to giggle. She followed behind the new Robin as he tottered down the hall under the weight of the files. He had just reached the computer and set them down when the tell tale modulated voice of the Dark Knight called out from behind.

  
“There you are!” Bruce huffed out, the rest of the Justice League running in on his heels. “What were you doing?” he asked, relief threatening to give way to annoyance.

  
“Robin offered to carry my files for me,” Diana cut in, tone level and serious but her expression, behind the boy and therefore out of his sightline, conveyed her amusement clearly to the Caped Crusader and the rest of the team.

  
“I see,” Bruce said, relaxing slightly at the realization that his son had not been overtaken by intruders or his mischievous nature but merely by an adolescent crush. “Well, that was very gentlemanly of you,” he told his son who grinned in response. “Let’s let Wonder Woman get to work now though,” he said as he motioned for Jason to follow him. The young Robin glanced back over his shoulder to throw a cheerful smile at Diana and then followed his new father. Diana watched Bruce nod in approval and Clark give the boy a pat on the back, surely praising the child’s good manners. She laughed pleasantly to herself and then sat down at the computer, once again resuming her investigation.

  


  


Diana and Clark were sitting in the Watch Tower lounge one evening on passive monitor duty when, suddenly and unprompted, Clark started laughing. Diana looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow at the Man of Steel.

  
“Would you care to share?” she asked.

  
“It’s nothing,” Clark managed, getting his breath. “It’s just, okay you know how Bruce is out of town?” The Amazonian nodded, recalling their friend mentioning some investigative work overseas. “Alright, well Alfred is also out of town on vacation visiting some of his relatives in England,” Clark explained, “and since Dick is older now, Bruce told him and Jason that it would be okay if they stayed on their own for the weekend while he’s away.”

  
“So Dick is in charge?” Diana asked, “I’m sure that is going to go well.”

  
“Exactly,” Clark laughed. “So Bruce asked me to periodically listen in to what’s going on in the Manor to make sure everything is okay.”

  
“And I take it you heard something entertaining,” Diana grinned.

  
“They’re arguing about who is the coolest member of the JLA,” Clark chuckled. “Apparently Jason said it was you and Dick started mocking him for having a crush. Jason is of course adamantly denying it, and I definitely heard what sounded like a shoe being thrown against a wall followed by a very unvigillante-like screech from Dick.” Diana burst out laughing along with Clark. It certainly seemed that the two Robins were indeed becoming brothers. “Poor kid really is smitten,” Clark smiled.

  
“Yes, it is quite sweet. I remember when I had such a crush,” Diana hummed. “When I was a child on Themyscira I was quite enamored for a time with one of my mother’s guards.”

  
“Oh?” Clark drawled as he rose an eyebrow playfully, “pray do tell.”

  
“Her name was Euboea. She was the fastest, strongest, most cunning of the guards and I thought she was the most magnificent beauty the gods had ever created.” She laughed at the memory. “I followed her around during training, patrol, any time that I could simply to watch her. She was so patient, Zeus bless her. She never told me to leave her presence unless I was hindering her in some manner. She even helped me learn to shoot a bow. In truth I think she may have found some amusement in it all, especially if I looked as much like a lovesick kitten as Jason.”

  
“Puppy love,” Clark cooed teasingly. Diana laughed; she had never heard the term before but it fit quite well with the expression the young boy wore around her (which she was certain he thought he hid well, especially behind the domino mask). Clark sighed dramatically and leaned back. “I remember my first puppy crush. Miss Marello, third grade. She had a musical laugh and a loose curly ponytail and I was sure I was going to marry her.” Diana laughed again and the Man of Steel joined her. “I thought she hung the moon. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her.” Suddenly he began to laugh even harder, hit with a memory. “One time I very nearly blew my whole superpowered farmboy secret to impress her. We were all playing outside after school waiting for our parents and there was a tree that had fallen over in a storm that was sort of laying on the road. It wasn’t blocking it or anything, Smallville traffic isn’t exactly gridlock so it was easy enough to drive around, but I decided in my very astute eight year old mind that picking up that tree and moving it out of the road was the most impressive, heroic, masculine thing I could do, and that if Miss Marello saw that she’d think I was just swell. Had Ma not driven up right then the next day’s paper would have been all about an alien third grader living right in the heart of Smallville!”

  
The pair continued to laugh and reminisce, talking of old crushes and superpowered attention stunts, and checking in every so often to make sure the new Robin’s romantic embarrassment hadn’t landed the older in any (serious) wrestling matches or the trunk of the Batmobile.

  


  


Jason was different than he used to be. The Red Hood was more dangerous than Robin had ever been. More driven. More somber. He didn’t laugh as often. His spry, bounding way of moving around was gone; he no longer darted about, cheering and bantering with anyone who would engage him. His steps had a heaviness they’d never had before.

  
Death will do that to you.

  
She watched from her hiding place under the neighboring dock as Jason took out the men who had been loading crates onto the boat. He moved with determination and purpose, incapacitating the ones he could but not hesitating to eliminate the targets he could not subdue. She recognized the agility and swiftness in his movements, similar to the training she herself had received on Themyscira. The violence was calculated, practical. Efficient. He took no joy in killing, but he was unafraid to do so. She understood.

  
While he was extremely skilled and very well trained, he was far from as experienced as Diana and he did not have her vantage point, so when she saw another man coming up from behind as Jason fought two of the others she raced over to the fight and swung an uppercut into his chin before he could even register her movement. He flew back into the water and Jason whirled around to see what was going on.

  
“I have your back, keep fighting,” Diana said, taking on another goon who had begun to recover from Jason’s attack. Red Hood did not need to be told twice and spun back to the task at hand. The two continued fighting and within a few minutes all the men were either tied up or dead. One use of the lasso revealed the drugs’ supplier and destination, and one final punch from Jason had them all out cold. Red Hood normally did not wait around after a fight, but the police were a long way off so Jason thought he could deviate from protocol just this once. He leaned back against the wooden post of the pier as Diana did the same. His awkward posture and almost nervous fidgeting sharply contrasted the smooth and calculated demeanor he had had in the fight.

  
“Uh, thank you. For you know, helping me out back there.”

  
“Of course,” Wonder Woman replied. “I saw that you were in danger.” Jason chuckled dryly, almost bitter.

  
“And that’s what heroes do. Right.”

  
“Yes,” Diana answered, “but it is also what friends do.” Jason’s eyes flitted from their steady lookout over the water and chanced a quick glance at the Amazon’s face. He wasn’t sure how to respond, and so instead he did what he was best at: diversion.

  
“Did he send you?” he asked. Diana recognized the tactic instantly but she also understood that this question was just as important, even if she suspected Jason himself didn’t.

  
“Not specifically,” she said, “but he did suggest I keep an eye out for you. He thought that you would prefer myself to his own vigil.” Jason scoffed slightly, genuine, but still contrasting to the warmth he felt on the tips of his ears. He was, as he had been in many moments before for admittedly different reasons, thankful for his hood. Diana continued, voice ever so slightly softer. “He cares for you. He wants you to be safe.” Jason moved to argue but one hand raised by the heroine silenced him instantly (a superpower in its own right). “I know he does not show this well, and you have every right to be frustrated with that. And I know you think he did not avenge your death. And you are correct; he did not.” Jason looked at her in obvious surprise. She smiled sadly. “Your death changed him. You have no way of knowing this, but he was so broken after you were taken from him. I thought he would go mad. I too expected that he would go on a rampage and wrend the Joker limb from limb; I wanted to. I think that most of us did. But we did not feel that we could take vengeance away from Batman.”

  
“Yeah, Mr. ‘I Am Vengeance’ really is taking his time on that isn’t he,” Jason scoffed. Diana shook her head.

  
“No, Jason, that is what I am telling you. When you died he realized that vengeance was futile. He had spent his whole career, his whole life, seeking vengeance for his parent’s deaths and it had never brought him solace. It had only brought him darkness, and it had taken you from him. Your death hurt him even more deeply than theirs, and he blamed himself. So when he emerged from his turmoil he swore to live better. To put aside vengeance and to truly seek justice. He chose to live a better life for you, Jason. To honor you.”

  
Jason was speechless. Diana could not see his face through the mask, could not see the emotions running across, but she could tell from his body language and the way that he almost swayed that he was processing more than she could imagine. The two stayed silent for a while, Jason trying to understand what the princess had said and Diana giving him the space he needed to do so. After a while she noticed that the boy was looking at the bodies on the pier around them. She could not see through the helmet but she could guess how his expression must look.

  
“I am no stranger to killing either you know,” she said, the sound of her voice startling Jason out of his thoughts. He cocked his head ever so slightly and the fabled Wonder Woman continued. “I take no pleasure in the act, but I am of the opinion that it is at times necessary. I am a warrior first, and everything that follows is second.” She turned to look Jason in the eyes. “This has never stopped your father from being my friend.” She watched the former Robin carefully for signs that he understood what she was truly saying. “Our disagreement on the matter has led us into some tense situations and heated conversations, but it has never damaged our fundamental relationship. We have always been able to work as a team, and the Manor doors have always been open to me as mine are to him. Imagine, if this is how he treats a friend, how he would respond to his own son.” Jason once again was speechless, but Diana knew that their time was not unlimited. “It is time for us to leave here, as the police will soon be on their way. Come, I will get us away unseen.” Jason nodded dumbly but followed the heroine’s lead.

  
The two ducked into the shadow of a boathouse just as the sirens came within earshot. Diana turned to the boy, still so young despite what he must think, and tried to imagine what he was thinking.

  
“Uh, thanks, again,” he said. “You know, for earlier but also for...you know. What you said back there.” Diana smiled softly.

  
“I speak only the truth.” Jason chuckled, trying to diffuse the seriousness that had surrounded the conversation for so long.

  
“Yeah, well, I guess holding onto that lasso every day for a few centuries will do that.” Diana laughed, and she could tell that under his helmet Jason was grinning in relief.

  
“If you ever need a friend, for backup or just to talk, I am here.”

  
“Thanks.”

  
“You do good work, even if it is not pleasant,” she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened under the touch and for a moment Diana worried that she had upset him somehow.

  
“Th-thanks, uh-” he stuttered, “I- well, you know, someone’s gotta do what Batsy won’t, I guess, so…” He laughed nervously and struggled to figure out what to do with his hands in a desperate and futile attempt to seem nonchalant. Diana schooled her face so as not to chuckle and squeezed his shoulder firmly with a light shake before turning him loose.

  
“Indeed,” she smiled. “Do you have a way to get home? One that does not require vaulting over rooftops?”

  
“Yeah, uh, I’ve got my bike,” Jason answered, trying to point towards the vehicle with both hands. “Motorbike I mean. Motorcycle. Not a kid’s bike or anything.” He stumbled slightly with an awkward laugh as he started to walk towards it backwards so that he could stay facing Diana. Wonder Woman chuckled and nodded.

  
“Good. I will see you soon then,” she smiled.

  
“Yeah, definitely,” Jason nodded quickly.

  
“Goodbye,”

  
“Yeah, right, bye,” he waved, bumping into his bike lightly before turning to get on and then speeding away. Diana laughed. At least Jason was not entirely different than he used to be.

  


  


Diana laughed as she watched Damian jump to try to retrieve his bowtie from Tim’s grip where he held it high above the younger boy’s head. The Wayne gala was in full swing which invariably meant that somewhere so were the Wayne children’s antics. The Amazon had already accounted for Dick who was out on the ballroom floor, and she was rather certain she had seen the corner of Stephanie’s sash peeking out from under the buffet table, which likely meant that Cassandra was underneath it as well. She soon found Barbara with Dick and noticed Bruce himself chatting with Gotham’s mayor. She smiled and sipped her champagne, looking around the room once again. Suddenly she saw a familiar face and smiled.

  
“Hello, little bird,” she chimed as she walked up, “it is nice to see you here. I did not expect that you would come.”

  
“Yeah, well, B thought I needed to take a night off. The bastard,” Jason joked. Diana laughed. The two stood together for a while in comfortable silence. They had grown to be quite close friends since the younger had returned from the dead and enjoyed one another’s quiet company in times like these amid more loud and active atmospheres. Jason was no longer awkward around the Amazonian princess, and found himself able to talk to her about things he did not tend to share with anyone else. Diana admired the young man he had become and respected him as both a colleague and a friend. The two often had long conversations about literature and history, and appreciated talking to each other about the challenges and benefits of their unique careers and backgrounds. The two even teamed up on occasion, which always led to hilarious and entirely unbelieved reports from criminals claiming that the world’s favorite heroine had tied them up alongside the scourge of the Gotham underworld. The two somewhat unlikely friends giggled every time about the authorities’ responses to the claims as well as the raised eyebrows and unasked questions that followed them for a few days after in the Manor and Watchtower.

  
They watched the people on the floor dancing, every so often commenting on an outfit or a particular technique. The elegance of the ball created a relaxed air for Diana and Jason to enjoy as two people who could appreciate it without needing to live and breathe its opulence. Laughing as Dick slipped on a dress’ train and twirled and twisted to keep from falling in an absurd fashion only achievable by someone of his acrobatic training, Jason pulled out his phone.

  
“I’ve got to send this to Roy,” he said, managing to snap a picture that captured the ridiculous showman’s grin on his brother’s face as the boy righted himself.

  
“Where is he tonight? I assumed he would be your plus one.”

  
“He had something he couldn’t get out of.”

  
“Ah, I see. A case?”

  
“A bottle of glue,” Jason snickered. Diana looked at him in confusion and he grinned. “Lian is doing an art project for school about her family so she asked if she could make a cast of his hand holding hers. She’s been on a paper mache kick lately.” Diana smiled warmly.

  
“That is very sweet.”

  
“Yeah,” Jason hummed happily, “it is.” Jason had been somewhat quiet about his relationship with Roy, essentially limiting the details if it to its existence with most of his family and not even to that with most other people. It was easier to talk to Diana however, and so the Amazon knew at least a bit about the couple. She smiled to think of Jason so happy and in such a healthy situation. It was what he deserved. She could tell even now that he wished that his partner was here with him. The two were drawn from their conversation as Lois and Clark walked past and waved on their way to the dance floor. Diana and Jason waved back and watched as the couple began to dance along to the string quartet. They continued to look on, seeing Dick holding Barbara in his arms bridal style and spinning them around as she laughed. Tim it seemed had managed to coax Stephanie and Cassandra out from their place under the table and was taking turns dancing with his sisters. Bruce had largely managed to avoid dancing for most of the night but it seemed that Selena had snagged him and was grinning as he feigned annoyance. Suddenly, Diana had an idea. She smiled tightly to suppress her laugh and turned to Jason. She was going to find this extremely amusing.

  
“It is too bad that Roy could not accompany you, everyone ought to have a dance partner,” she said innocently. Jason shrugged.

  
“It’s alright, he’s not big on dancing anyway. I’m fine just hanging here on the sideline.”

  
“Nonsense,” she asserted, holding out her hand. “Dance with me.” Jason’s head shot up.

  
“W-what?” His eyes were wide and his face was steadily gaining a dusting of pink.

  
“Everyone ought to dance at a ball, so come, I shall be your dance partner.” Shakily he took her hand and the pair started to walk out onto the floor. As they turned to face each other Jason made a desperate effort not to look at her face, which was just as well since Diana was having a difficult time controlling her urge to laugh. The two may have been close friends and any awkwardness on Jason’s part long forgotten, but being asked to dance by one’s childhood crush was still a mystifying and heart fluttering experience. The young Robin in Jason was swooning and Wonder Woman knew it, exactly like she had predicted. He took her left hand and put his right on her back, stepping forward with his right foot in time to the music.

  
“You dance very well,” she remarked and could not hold back a quiet snicker at the blush creeping further up Jason’s face.

  
“Thank you, so do you,” he said with admirable composure. As the music continued and they fell into a steady routine, Jason relaxed somewhat. He managed to look at her and at one point even took the liberty of spinning her. She laughed in surprise and he couldn’t help but laugh too. A little more comfortable, he lessened the distance between them just enough to be able to talk more easily over the din of the gala. “You know,” he laughed, reminiscing, “I used to have such a crush on you.” He shook his head at the admission and Diana giggled.

  
“Used to?” she teased. Jason laughed and knocked his shoulder, already very close, into hers playfully.

  
“Yes, used to,” he grinned. Diana pursed her lips and looked up, pantomiming contemplation.

  
“I know,” she whispered teasingly. Jason let out a quiet squawk.

  
“You’re so mean!” he gasped, glee evident in his voice as he realized her plan to embarrass him. Diana finally let out the full, hearty laughter that she had been repressing since the idea came to her. Jason started laughing too, tension melting from his shoulders as he began to spin them. They danced with more flair and silliness now, weaving their way across the floor and simply having fun.

  
Before long the pair passed Dick and Barbara in their own silly spinning dance. Dick, who very clearly remembered his little brother’s young crush, gasped dramatically and gave a mocking thumbs up. Returning his older brother’s mocking grin, Jason spun Diana with flair and flipped Dick off.

  
“Jason,” came Bruce’s stern voice from somewhere behind them.

  
“Damn Bat senses,” Jason mumbled under his breath, looking back up at Diana. The two burst out laughing in unison.


End file.
